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Patented' Mar. [4, |899.

W. W. KNOWLES.

TILE FOR PARTITIONS. (Application filed Dec. 1. 1898:)

(R0 Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLTAM 7. KNOVLES, OF NElV YORK, N. Y.

'rlLE FoR PARTiTloNs.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 621,100, dated March14, 1899.

Application filel December 1, 1898. Serial No. 697,971. (No model.)

To all whom it may concer:

lle it known that 1, WILLIAM W. KNowLEs, a e1t1zen of the United States,residing at New vYork, in `the county and State of New York,

have in'vented a new and useful Improvement in Tiles and Blocks forPartitions, the., in Buildings, of which the following is aspecification.

In partitions that haveheretofore been constructed difiiculty has beenexperienced in employing looking-slabs, because such slabs, aliinterlocking in one direction, have permitted the wall or partition tobul ge or buckle at one side, the other side assuming a concavecondition. My improvement 'prevents this, because the blocks have to bereversed in position as they are laid up.

My invention relates to blocks or slabs adapted for use in buildings forforming partitions, forsurfacin g Walls, and forfioors. The materialemployed may be of any desired and suitable charaeter and of any degreeof hardness, that used for walls and floors in the form of tiles .beingof any desired color and plain or ornamented and being necessarilyharder than that usedfor partitions.

In the present improvernent the layers or slabs interlock in oppositedirections-that is to say, each block or tile has a fiange or slabprojeetion coming behind a slab or projecting flange of the adjacentblock and one cannot separate from the other, and hence the blocks areinterlocked equally in one direction as much as in' another and forrn astrong fiat layer independent of any cementa'tious materials.

lVhen the blocks are set up edgewise, as in partitions andwall-surfaeing, the horizontal edges are fiat and at right angles to thefaces and come squarely together to carry the weight of the superposedblocks, and it is preferable to make other edges beveled, so as toassist in bringing the respective blocks into intiinate contact andcause them to firmly interloek as laid together.

It is preferable to secure the blocks together by cement between theirmeeting surfaces and edges, and to roughen such surfaces so that thecementing material may geta better hold. o

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of a group lof blocks of simpleconstruction. Fig. 2 is a a plan of a group of blocks of preferred form.

Fig. 5 is a section at x a; of Fig. 4. Fig. G is a plan of one of theblocks shown in Fig. 4;, and Fig. 7 is an edge View of the same. Fig. Sis a plan of a half-block, and Fig. 9 is an edge view of the same.

In the groups of slabs shown in Figs. 1 and 4. the slabs a b interlockin opposite directiOns-that is to say, each block or tile has a flangeor slab projection coming behind a slab orprojecting fiange of the adjacent blocks in the groups. The blocks a are made with 'the projectionsa' from one surface and with the projections a Irom the reverse surface,the projeetions each being about half the thickness of the center of theblock. lVhen these blocks are laid up or grouped, the pro- `jections a'of one block pass behind the projections (L2 of the adjaeent blocks, theblocks interlocking in opposite directions. The opposing surfaces andedges are preferably thinly surfaced with adhering material, such ascement, and when the group is set up edgewise, as in a part-ition, thehorizontal edges come squarely together and carry the weight of thesuperposed blocks.

The 'blocks Z) are octagonal, Wit-h a square center b'. The cent-er isof full thickness, while the octagonal part becomes a surround* ingfiange of about half the thickness. In laying these blocks up into theform shown in Fig. 4 they are placed in opposite directions orreversed-that is, the part Z) of half of the blocks is shown upon oneside and the part b of half of the blocks is on the other side. Likewisethe lpart b' of half of the blocks is on one side, fitting the octagonaledges of the adjacent blocks, and the part b' of the adja'cent blocks ison the other side, so that the meeting edges of all the blocks conformand fit closely to one another, the surfaces Z) overlapping vand beingunited by eeinent or other adhesive material to one another, and theedges come one to another and to the edges of the square central portionb'. I prefer to make half of the edges of the portion b straight and-half beveled, and I prefer to undercut or inwardly bevel the edges ofthe portions 11', so that the bevelcd edges of` Z), when they blocks arebrought together, will fit the underont edges of b' and produee abinding action in setting' up the blocks that will compel theoverlapping surfaces to come olosely together, and will also assist inefiecting a firm union of the parts.l These blocks may be made in anydesired manner or process and of any desired material, and may havethe-meeting surfaees of the overlapping portions scratohed'or ronghenedso that the cement may have a better hold in uniting the blocks. Theblocks for forming partitions can be made of the material usually employed for such bloeks.

The tile-blocks can be made of vitrifying material in suitable colors,and either plain or ornamented and glazed in whole or in part and ofsuitable sizes for surfacinga wall or floor. i

The half-blocks shown in Figs. 8 and 9 are employed at and to completethe top and bottom or respective edges of the group of blocks, Fig. 4.fThe triangular portion o' is ofvfull thickness, and the half-octagon cis a flange of about half-thickness, the parts fitting and interlockingwith the blocks b.

I elaim as my invention- 1. The herein-described slab or block havingflanges in one plane extending in opposite directions at one side ofcentral body portion, Whereby slabs or blooks have to be laid togetherin reverse positions, with the flange portions of one blook lappingbehind the fiange portions of the adjacent blocks and coming 4up againstthe edges of the body portions of tions, substantially as set forth. i

2. A block for partitions, tiles, dac., com

prising a body portion, a flange extension or w projection to the bodyportion upon one side and of about half the thickness of the .body

portion, the body portion having square ontlines or edges and the fiangeextension being eight-sided and overlapping and interlocking the similarportions of adjacent'blocks 'when the blocks are laid together,substantially as set forth. i

3. A block for partitions, tiles, &c., comprising a body portion, aflange extension or projection to the body portion upon one side and ofabout half the thiekness of the body portion, the body portion havingsquare outlines or edges, and the fiange extension being eight-sided andoverlapping and intel-looking the similar portions of adjacent blockswhen the'blocks are laid together, the horizontal edges of the flange,extension'being at right angles to the surface to carry the weight, theother edges being beveled, and the edges of the square central portionbeing undercut and interlocking with the beveled edges of the flan geextension, substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

Signed by me this 28th day of November, A. D. 1898.

WILLIAM VV. KNOXVLES. VVitn esses:

GEO. T. PINCKNEY, E. E. POHL.

